Is this Fairy Inkcap?

[Hedgehoggy]

Hello, my first time posting in this section, and my first fungi interest! I spotted this tiny fungus growing on my lawn today. The nearest tree is an oak, some 3 metres away, with silver birches a little further back. They were extremely fragile – I gently pushed one of them with my fingernail so I could take a photo of the gills, and it promptly ‘fell’ out the ground! After taking this photo, I rubbed the cap between my fingers to see if it emitted a smell, and it disintegrated/dissolved between my fingers, leaving a dark ‘inky’ residue.

After searching through the Gallery photos here, I reached the conclusion that this could be Fairy Inkcap; is this correct? (even though it wasn’t growing on dead wood – unless it’s an indication that one of the roots from the oak tree has died ).



[P.S. When I click on the ‘Fungi Directory’ icon in the ‘Fungi Menu’, I’m automatically redirected back to the main WAB directory ]

[Ditiola]

Hi
Welcome to WAB Fungus Forum.

You certainly have an inkcap. There are a lot of species of inkcap in the UK and with the exception of a few distinctive ones; most require careful study with a microscope to find out the species. A few years ago all the ink caps were in the genus Coprinus, however this has now been split into about 4 genera (or is it 5) someone will put me right. Therefore perhaps you will have to be content with successfully getting it to an Inkcap.

Peter

[Hedgehoggy]

Hi Peter, thanks so much for taking the time to share your knowledge, and for the welcome . I hadn't appreciated just how complex identifying fungi was, but I'm more than happy to get it to Inkcap. I did take a spore print yesterday, but I don't have a macro mode on my camera so the subsequent photos weren't worth posting!

I get some weird and wonderful looking fungi growing in my garden from time to time, but it was this tiny delicate fungus which sparked my curiosity to find out what it was. I feel another interest brewing....!